


The Bat and the Bull

by BSplendens



Category: Mythological creatures - Fandom
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Big strong minotaur using horns and head and hooves to kill people, Crunchy ribcages, Mentions of cleaning game, Rating May Change, Species with only one gender, Vaguely bat-like species that likes to eat raw hearts, Vaguely feminine creature that's a gender we don't have, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:10:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4342619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BSplendens/pseuds/BSplendens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Small slender bat-creature is captured by unsavory creatures, minotaur creature intervenes.<br/>Events proceed from there.<br/>Or: how the big furry minotaur met/kinda fell for the skinny little third-gender vampire bat assassin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The sounds of battle and the scent of blood catch Tobias' attention, pulling him away from the just-killed deer he's skinning. Smells like human blood, too... no, actually, not quite human. There's a hint of goblin. Maybe... half-goblin. Yes, that seems right- but what was that pained screech? That was definitely not a goblin of any form. Sounded more like some kind of feline. Well, whatever it was, it's definitely in trouble. Huffing to himself, Tobias gets up, trotting through the forest and occasionally hitting a branch or two with his wide horns. He's moving as quietly as possible, hoping to just sneak up on whatever's going on... minotaur hybrid or not, he's capable of being fairly quiet.

There's a clearing up ahead, and- oh, look, there's a dead half-goblin slumped over a tree stump. That's the source of the blood smell... and it will help hide his scent from any dogs or other hunters. Therefore, Tobias crouches near the dead thing, being sure he's reasonably well hidden as he surveys the clearing in front of him.

 

Eight or so beings are scattered around the clearing, most of them looking like they have at least a bit of goblin blood in them. Two look to be fully human, at least two are full goblins, and one looks to be full orc. The orc is holding something upside down, something slender and furry and very unhappy. That's evidently the source of the screech... and it looks very dazed. Many of the attackers are sporting fresh wounds, but they've obviously overpowered the slender thing, and the weakly squirming being is unable to do anything but weakly try to bite the two people tying it up. Tobias should probably intervene... but he can't, not yet. Both of the humans are sporting loaded crossbows, and Tobias does NOT want those aiming at him. He's too far away right now... he needs to sneak around, get closer to the archers, so he can surprise and overwhelm them before they can fire off a bolt. Hopefully the captors won't hurt their new prisoner before Tobias can sneak himself into position...

 

"What d'you suppose it is?" one of the goblins grunts, prodding the captive's short muzzle with one nail- then jerks back just in time to not lose his finger.

"Muzzle it first, idiot." a half-goblin mutters, forcing a metal band around the snarling creature's mouth and roughly tying it in place. "Probably crawled out of a cave somewhere. Weird bat goblin thing. Might be venomous."

"More importantly... think it's female?" the orc questions, tugging on their captive's tunic and beginning to tear it off. "Looks like it is... skinny little thing."

"Ugh. Must you always do this with everything we catch?"

"It's fun."

"Eh. Don' ask me if it's female, just ch- AW HELL-"

"Th' hell is that?"

"It ain't male. That's all I care about." the orc declares, seemingly unfazed by- Tobias can't see, but evidently the whatever-they've-caught has unusual equipment. Smirking, the orc grips one slender thigh and forces the anxiously hissing creature's legs further apart, then presses closer- and promptly regrets it.

 

Tobias can't see exactly what the frightened creature did, but the orc screeches and jumps back, clutching at his groin- and there's blood dripping between his fingers.

Well. A screeching, hopping orc is fairly distracting. Taking advantage of the fact that all of the attackers are currently staring at either the orc or their prisoner's crotch (does that thing have teeth down there or something?), Tobias hops up and lunges, immediately swatting one of the humans away with the back of his hand, then lowers his head and charges the clearing in general.

The second archer manages to bring his crossbow up before Tobias hits him, but the bolt only buries itself in the minotaur hybrid's horn, which does absolutely nothing to stop Tobias from plowing into the human and flinging him away. Two goblins are next, both small beings sent flying when the large being rams his head into them one after another. The smaller one even ends up in a tree, as Tobias flicks his head to the side and sends it flying in retaliation for a dagger slice across the side of his neck. Something tries to get at Tobias from behind, but it runs into his leg and he promptly just kicks it away, then charges right at the orc. And this time, he's not aiming to bruise and stun. When he gets close enough, he turns his head to the side and slams one horn into the orc's ribcage, then keeps going until they both smash into a tree with enough force to break several of the orc's ribs.

The orc gives a gasping cry of pain, nails dragging down Tobias' shoulders, then shudders and goes limp. And no wonder... both lungs are probably completely smashed.

Tobias huffs softly in satisfaction, then pulls his horn out of the tree and tosses his head around until the orc's carcass falls off. Growling, he turns to glare down at the clearing in general, then lunges at the last two goblins- and hits nothing but air as they scatter. Good. They won't be coming back.

 

By this point, the odd being is practically hyperventilating, hissing in a way that's a bit more like a whimper than anything else. And that's when Tobias notices the soft bandages wrapped over the slender thing's eyes. Oh... is it blind? Those bandages are soft and clean... definitely not something the goblins put there. Oh, poor thing... probably has no idea what's happening, aside from what the orc had tried to do. And... there's just been a lot of violence, there's blood-smell all over, something obviously just died... it probably thinks the killer wanted the goblins at the way to get at it.

 

"Oh no, shh..." Tobias croons, his voice as soft as he can manage as he slowly approaches the terrified being. "It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you. I... I'm actually here to help." he soothes, then draws a dagger from his belt and cuts the ropes forcing the frightened thing's legs apart. "There, see?" he hums, then can't help his curiosity and looks down, just wanting to see what exactly this being did to the orc.

 

The slender thing presses its legs together immediately, but not fast enough to stop Tobias from getting a quick look. Well, that doesn't look like a male, or a female. Tobias isn't looking too closely, but he gets a glimpse of what he could swear are little tentacles- two of which are tipped with bone. Oh. Those look sharp... are they a defensive mechanism? Those can't possibly be involved in actual sex... can they? That just seems painful and unpleasant... well, maybe he can ask about that later, when this whatever-it-is has calmed down and might be willing to talk about what it is and how exactly those work.

 

"Okay... this tunic of yours is kind of shredded. Tell you what... I'll get you loose, then maybe you can use that belt to keep this together and wear it kind of like a skirt? I just got a nice big deer, I can make something out of the hide, but it'll take a little while. Oh- I'm Tobias. I'm... kind of like a minotaur? Um- I'll get you loose, we can get out of here, and then I'll let you find out for yourself, okay? Just... don't bite me. I'm nice, I promise." the large being soothes, carefully cutting the muzzle away before moving to the ropes that bind the slender being's arms and upper body in place.

 

Now that it's not panicking and there's no need to look around, Tobias can take a bit of time to inspect whatever this is. It's very slender, that's for sure, but it doesn't really look to have a gender... it's maybe a bit more towards female? Though that impression is aided a bit by the soft brownish fur all over its frame, fur that's particularly thick around its front and chest.

Below the bandage around its eyes is a snub muzzle with a wrinkled nose-tip, like a bat, and a set of particularly large ears perk up from behind the bandages. The leaf-shaped ears keep lowering and folding up and then unfurling rapidly, the creature apparently torn between listening carefully and protecting the likely-delicate ears.

A tough-looking brown membrane is attached from its elbow to its armpit, and down its sides to just above its waist. If it had its arms out to the side, the membrane would probably increase its surface area a bit, though likely not enough to let it glide. That membrane is probably useless.

Its legs are long and slender, digitigrade, and its feet are slender and somewhat bird-like. The second its feet touch the ground, the slender creature hisses and tries to get away, but is stopped when it runs into Tobias' arm.

 

"Easy... it's okay, I promise. I won't hurt you, but we really need to leave, and you're going the wrong way- please don't bite me, I'm just going to pick you up." Tobias croons, carefully scooping the soft-furred being into his arms and cradling it. He's promptly bitten for his trouble, but he doesn't drop her, he just very gently strokes the back of the hissing creature's head. "Ow. Let go, please? I'm sorry if you don't want me to pick you up, but we need to move quickly in case something else comes... I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. And... if it's what you're worried about, I'm not going to rape you. I don't do that kind of thing. Besides... I don't want to get myself stabbed in the crotch. I like those parts."

 

The snarling being lowers its ears, then slowly lets go, just glaring up at Tobias instead. Evidently it can tell where his face is. Not surprising, with ears like that. It evidently doesn't trust him in the slightest... also not surprising. After all, it has no reason to trust him.

 

Tobias hums soothingly and starts walking, heading back to where he left the deer. "I need to go and pick up a deer I just got, then we should move away from all of this blood smell. I know where there's a waterfall... we can both get rinsed off. Oh, and- since you aren't male or female, but you kinda look a bit female, is it okay if I use 'she' to refer to you? I... don't want to call you 'it', and I don't know if there's another word I can use. Is there?" 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx doesn't know what's going on and she does NOT like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be referring to Nyx (bat-assassin-critter) with female pronouns. Her species has a word to replace he/she and one for his/her, but it doesn't translate into English and it can't be typed out. It's kind of a squeaky clicking noise.
> 
> Sentences in all italics are thoughts.

Nyx is NOT comfortable with this situation. Aside from the fact that it's very furry, very powerful, and very  _male,_ she knows nothing about this being carrying her- and it's all she can do to not bite again. No, shouldn't do that, shouldn't make something this strong angry while it's carrying her- it's huge. She can hear how it breathes, hear where its voice comes from... it's probably over eight feet tall. And... she heard the noises after it smashed into the orc. It crushed an orc's ribcage. That takes a lot of strength... it could snap any bone in her body, crush her skull, splinter her ribcage... anything. So she's desperately hoping that whatever's carrying her is as friendly as it claims to be... she's in no shape to fight. That blasted orc caught her off guard, clubbed her with something spiked, and she still can't quite keep her balance. 

When the furry thing- Tobias, he said- asks about referring to her with female pronouns, she raises her head slightly, then nods once in permission. The proper word doesn't translate from her language, so she's fine with that. And... that question is probably a good sign.

After a minute or two to calm down, Nyx shifts around until she's sitting in his arms instead of being cradled like a baby, then turns towards Tobias and perks her ears slightly. "What you want?" she hisses, her throat unaccustomed to a language that isn't primarily made up of clicks and squeaks. Her voice fluctuates depending on how much English she's been speaking as opposed to her own language, and right now she doesn't sound friendly at all. 

 

"You're bleeding, dizzy, and kind of mostly naked. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to get you somewhere other than here, and maybe patch you up. Try to relax... get your heartbeat slowed a bit, and you'll bleed less." Tobias coaxes, then crouches and picks up- smells like a still-warm dead deer. Judging by the noise and the shift of his frame, he's flung it over his other shoulder-

 

And that smell is rather interesting. Nyx is hungry, and there's still-warm blood available... licking her lips, Nyx turns around and reaches out for the deer, tracing a clawtip down the neck until she can lean down and lap at the blood slowly dripping from its half-skinned throat. Mmm... deer has always been a favorite of hers, and it's harder to get at than most animals. It's hard to trap deer.

 

"Oh- are you hungry? I'll let you have as much of this as you'd like, when we get somewhere safe... it's not too far. Then I can try to patch you up... there's blood dripping down your back. And- you might want to tie that tunic a bit tighter around your waist, it's kind of shredding apart." Tobias warns softly, shifting his arm a bit so the odd thing can properly reach the deer, then tilts his head slightly when Nyx braces herself on his shoulder. "Oh, wow. You're strong... you're really skinny, but you're strong. Is that... normal for your species?" 

 

"No." Nyx growls, then huffs and curls herself into a little ball. It is not, in fact, normal. Took her a lot of work to get this strong, but it's served her well... she's gotten herself out of a lot of trouble by surprising someone with her strength. Won't work here, though,Tobias is much stronger than she is. And there's also the problem of her not having any balance... she can't fight well at all. 

Ears clamped down to her head in a gesture of unhappiness, Nyx just goes still for awhile, not moving for at least ten minutes. When she finally does move, it's only because she's been gently laid down in a clump of ferns. Propping herself up with one elbow, she tucks the remnants of her tunic closer around her hips, not comfortable with the whatever-he-is staring at her. Normally she's okay with being naked around other species, but right now she's really not feeling safe... she'd thought other species wouldn't be interested in doing  _that_ to her, but evidently she'd been quite wrong. 

 

"Okay... give me a minute to get rinsed off, then I'm going to see if I can stop that bleeding. Your head and neck are kind of gashed up... it's bleeding pretty heavily." Tobias points out, then trots away and wades into what sounds like a stream a short distance away. 

 

<<Viewpoint switch>>

 

Once finished cleaning the blood off of himself, Tobias shakes like a giant dog, then trots over and flops down near this odd little being. "Hey... can you tell me your name?" he asks softly, hunching down into himself in an attempt to not be so big and intimidating. He's not going to ask what she is... she already looks cranky, best not to risk upsetting her more. "I'm Tobias... not sure if I already said that." 

 

"You did." the slender being mutters, curling into herself in a very defensive and nervous posture, then sighs and unfolds her ears to listen better. "Name is Nyx." she huffs, then carefully reaches around to inspect her own back, hissing softly in pain as her fingertips encounter the messy wounds torn by the spiked club. That's really just very painful, much more so than a knife would cause. "Nh-" 

 

"I... don't think you can reach back there and clean those properly. They're probably really dirty... orc clubs are usually filthy, especially the spiked ones. Will you let me touch you so I can clean those cuts out?" Tobias asks softly, getting up and going to fetch some water from the stream. "I'm just gonna get some water, you can think about it." 

When he comes back, carefully carrying a wooden bowl full of water, Nyx is huddled down into the ferns with her back exposed and just about everything else hidden. "I'm... going to take that as a yes. Just... don't bite me, please? Tell me if you need me to stop." Tobias hums, carefully resting one hand on Nyx's back for a moment before beginning to carefully clean one of the cuts. He pauses for a second, though, realizing something- then offers the handle of his dagger to Nyx, tapping it gently against her muzzle. "Here, that's my dagger handle.. bite down, it'll make this a bit easier. Just... don't stab me." 

 

Nyx appears to be a bit calmer now, though she's still hissing in pain now and then, and her sharp little teeth immediately fasten into the dagger handle. She manages to keep still, though, despite the pain lancing through her back every time Tobias touches her. It  _hurts,_ but she knows she needs to get those wounds clean- orc clubs are filthy. The minotaur has common sense- that's rare for his kind. But it's appreciated... idiots are never fun to deal with. 

Once the minotaur stops  _touching_ her, she slowly un-sticks her teeth from the dagger handle, though she doesn't hand it back- not yet. She might need it. The minotaur seems to be at least reasonably friendly, but... just in case, Nyx is going to keep this knife. 

 

"There... I'm all done. Are you... are you alright?" Tobias ventures, then slowly moves around in front of Nyx, trying to meet her gaze for a moment before he remembers that she can't do that. "Um... hi. So... are you out here on your own? Is anyone looking for you, or.. do you want to come with me? I'm not really off to anywhere in particular, just... looking for somewhere a bit more accepting, I suppose. Well- actually, I do have this-" he hummed, then paused halfway through pulling something paper out of his pack. "Uh- well, I guess you can't exactly... see it. Sorry. But... somebody's been leaving these little posters up on message boards in towns. Basically, they're directions to a place that's safe for all... something about a pocket dimension? This one's a bit scorched, so the directions aren't very clear... I'm looking for somewhere called Dark Forest. Unfortunately, that's kind of a common name for forests around here. So, uh... I only know a little bit of where I'm going, but... I have supplies, and I can usually manage to trade on the outskirts of towns. And I can hunt, or trap- you won't go hungry. Does that- mf?" 

 

_He talks a lot. Great. But... he sounds harmless enough, and he seems to have a bit more of a goal than I do at the moment. I'll take it._

Nyx shoves one small hand up against Tobias' face, hushing him, then pats him gently on the muzzle. "Enough talk. I'm coming." she declares, attempting to get up, then snarls unhappily when the marks on her back tug painfully. Ow. Okay- no moving. That's... not going to end well. 

 

Tobias very carefully removes Nyx's hand from his mouth in order to not cut her with his teeth, then backs away, not wanting to frighten her. "Oh- would you like some of this deer? I can cook it, or... if you'd prefer it raw, you can have a slice now." he offers, moving over to where he'd left the deer, then- judging by the sound, he's slicing it open. "Maybe- you seemed to like the blood, so... would you like the heart? I'm not a big fan of it, myself, but some people seem to really like it." he shrugs, then creeps over to Nyx, now offering- yes, that's definitely part of the deer, presumably the heart .

 

Nyx tilts her head slightly, scenting the air, then slowly takes the -that's definitely a heart, has the right feel- from Tobias. Well... alright then. 

Shrugging slightly, Nyx takes a bite of the deer heart, then perks her ears up in a gesture of general approval. Oh... that's perfect. It's still warm, still full of blood, and completely intact- all the flavor is still there. But she'll have to eat it carefully to keep it that way- tear into the bottom, and all the blood drips out. Nyx's kind are known in some parts for a particular taste for the hearts of their prey, and there's a technique practiced by most. It tends to vary depending upon the teacher of the being in question, but the general consensus is that it's best to eat the large veins on top first, then carefully remove the sections one by one in order to drip out as little of the blood as possible. The rest of the prey is usually eaten cooked, at least somewhat, but cooking the heart ruins all the flavor. 

Once finished with the heart, Nyx gestures in the general direction of Tobias- he's not difficult to locate. Large creatures have large lungs and hearts, and naturally tend to be more audible than smaller animals. "Come here-" she orders, then flicks her ears slightly in surprise when the big creature immediately obeys. Well... he's the obedient type, then? That could be useful. But, in the meantime- what exactly is this? He seems like a minotaur, but his fur is oddly soft... and does he have fangs? Yes, those are fangs. Odd. But- the horns are right, even if the ears are a bit rounded. And the build seems to be about right... probably just an odd minotaur. And, if she's remembering this correctly, she knows how to keep him happy...

 

Tobias holds perfectly still, allowing Nyx to inspect his face and head, then lowers his head a bit more and thrums deep in his throat when Nyx rubs a spot behind his ear. Oh, that's... that's actually quite nice. Little bit odd, but... he likes it. Is this- something that's going to happen on a regular basis, then? Cool. No objections here. Rumbling happily, Tobias nuzzles against Nyx's little hands, clearly happy to just go along with whatever this is. This feels very nice... he has no objections to being rubbed behind his ears. He can't quite reach that spot himself, not properly... it's wedged right up against his horn base. Oh, that's- that's lovely, actually. 

 

Ah, she was right. Minotaurs do love having this spot rubbed, especially by someone with nimble enough claws to easily reach it. And... this is definitely something that's useful to know. Might be useful one of these days... but, for now, she'll just rest until her back stops hurting so much. And... and maybe sleep... she's tired. Her adrenaline burst from before is wearing off, and it's... it's left her very tired. 

 

Tobias gradually sits back up, looking down at Nyx, then hums soothingly and tugs a rather tattered blanket out of his pack. "Easy... I'm not going to hurt you, I just... have a blanket here." he whispers, carefully draping the blanket across the slender little frame, then backs up a bit more in order to finish butchering the deer. "It's okay, you can sleep... I'll keep an eye out for trouble." 

 

Ridiculous beastie. Seems harmless, though. Odd. 

Nyx curls up a bit tighter, one hand absentmindedly wrapping around the edge of the blanket, then sighs and tucks her head under the membrane on one arm. That's about all it's useful for, at this stage... just a way to block the sound out of her kind's large ears so they can sleep properly. 

She'll... figure this odd creature out in the morning. Maybe he'll make more sense when she isn't as tired.

**Author's Note:**

> A more detailed description of Tobias is incoming. For now, just picture a minotaur with a bit of bear in him, especially about the face.


End file.
